Two Boys

Approximate running time 2 hrs. 30 min.

Nico Muhly's hauntingly beautiful and dramatically chilling opera explores identity and desire in the shadowy world of the Internet as a detective investigates the stabbing of one teenage boy by another--and discovers a tangled web of online intrigue. Loosely inspired by real events, director Bartlett Sher's production includes striking video projections by 59 Productions (Satyagraha, The Enchanted Island), while Muhly's score—featuring lyrical vocal writing and shimmering choruses—captures the mysterious realm of cyberspace.

“A landmark in the career of an important artist…a work of dark beauty”
(The New York Times)

"Engrossing... a cause for celebration. Here is a full-length narrative grand opera that eagerly embraces elements from film noir, police procedurals and techno thrillers, in the service of a whodunit with disturbing sexual undercurrents, contemporary characters and social issues that resonate today. There are fleshed-out protagonists with backstories, tense dialogues and comic relief. In short, Lucas wrote a libretto that has the qualities of a solid play."
(Time Out New York)

Please be advised that Two Boys contains some profanity, sexually explicit language and adult content.

Two Boys is a co-production of the Metropolitan Opera and English National Opera.
Commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. Originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera/Lincoln Center Theater Opera/Music Theater Commissions Program, with support from the Francis Goelet Trusts and the Ford Foundation.